Pascal Gentil, 2-time Olympic medalist, 4-time World Cup champion and 14-time French national title winner, was at the temporary National Training Centre on 2 October 2009 to observe the national training squad going through their paces.
Being a passionate taekwondo practitioner, he just could not resist sharing some of his favorite fighting techniques. He also took the opportunity to point out mistakes made by some of the players and give them useful fighting tips.
Although Gentil retired after he won his national title early this year and had not done much taekwondo since, he could still demonstrate some mean and blinding kicks. He was also very agile and flexible.
Gentil revealed: “Since I took up my position as the Director General in Veolia Environmental Services based in Beijing, I do not have much time for training. But I keep fit by going to the gymnasium as often as possible.”
At the end of the training session, Gentil took some pictures with the players and shared some light-hearted moments with them. He even fooled around with them showing that he was still a ‘player’ at heart.
He said: “I enjoyed being with the players. They are all very warm and friendly.”
